Last year, 29% of America's entire workforce were forced to perform their jobs at home to allay new cases of COVID-19. For industries who do not have the luxury to opt for ‘work from home’ arrangements, doubling efforts to protect themselves while at work is necessary especially this year as everyone is gearing up to open up more offices to cause an economic rebound.
The current pandemic continues to wreak havoc across all industries and is extremely affecting global supply chains and economies. For one, concerns in the transport and shipping industries are continuously mounting that governments are calling for urgent action in the delivery of essential goods particularly medical equipment and medicines.
Wearing face masks and respirators as protection from COVID-19 and other harmful aerosol particles in the air is something most people have a hard time getting used to. For healthcare workers and individuals with sensitive skin, adverse dermatological effects are very common from the prolonged wearing of face masks or respirators. Unfortunately, we all have to wear them both to shield ourselves from the coronavirus and to comply with federal mandates.
Since face masks and respirators are here to stay in our continuing fight against COVID-19, many brands are integrating fashion with function in their products, leaving many to wonder if these essentials can be turned into fashion statements.
In British Columbia, Canada, an outbreak of the P.1 Brazilian COVID-19 variant is currently causing panic in the community with close to 300 cases being registered in late March. Perhaps the most alarming thing about this news is how far Brazil is from Canada and considering strict guidelines on international travel, this variant of concern (VOC) is proving to be one of the more contagious strains today.
While several COVID-19 vaccine brands have already secured emergency use authorization from the World Health Organization (WHO) and many other countries, there are still a few questions from the general public concerning their efficacies, potential adverse effects, or if we should keep wearing face masks after being vaccinated.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic upended people’s lives all over the world, more have reported experiencing depression and anxiety from being in quarantine. To mitigate the spread of the virus, worldwide lockdowns forced people in their homes and out of touch with friends and family.
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tagging COVID-19’s new variants as more contagious and spiking the number of infected cases worldwide, health experts are weighing in on what type of face masks are most effective to prevent it from further spreading both in the medical and general communities.